Folding crate and box.



' J. S. MOSHOLDER & H. I. BLOU'GH.

FOLDING CRATE AND BOX.

' APPLIOATIONYIILED 111111.14, 1911.

997,931 Patented July 11,1911.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

9 Jffih'askgldez:

1. s., MOSHOLDER & H; i. BLOUGH.

FOLDING CRATE AND BOX. APPLIOATIONI'ILED MAR. 14, 1911.

997,931. PatentedJuly11','191 1.

' 2 sums-$113111 2.

WITNESSES l I v H UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE. v

JONATHAN s. MOSHOLDER AND HENRY I: BLOUGI-I, or Joi NsTowN, PENNSYLVANIA.

FOLDING CRATE AND BOX.

997,931. Specification of Application filed March '14,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, J ONATHAN S. Mos- HOLDER and I'IENRY I. BLOUGH, citizens of the United States of-America, residing at i had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to folding crates and boxes, and the primary object of our invention is to. provide a crate or box that can be folded or collapsed to occupy a comparatively small space in transit or stor-' Another object of the invention is to pro-' vide a folding crate orbox that can be advantageously used in the shipment of various kinds of merchandise, particularly fruit and poultry, where it is customary to return the box or crate to the shipper. I

A. further object of the invention is to furnish a folding crate or box with novel means, ina manner as will be hereinafter set forth, for maintaining the same in a rigid and set up position.

A still further object of the invention is to accomplish the above result by a me .chanical construction that 'is simple, free from injury by ordinary use and efficient 'for the purposes for which it is intended.

lVith the above and other objects in View,

the invention resides in the novel.construction, combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter specifically described and.

then claimed.

Reference will now be had to the drawings, wherein like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the box or crate in a set up position, Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the crate illustrating the pivotal connection between the vertical walls thereof, Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the crate, Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the same, Figs. 5 and 6 are cross sectional views of the crate, and

Fig. 7 is a plan of the same folded or collapsed. t

The front wall comprises a plurality of bars or slats 1 having the ends thereof rounded, as at 2 and apertured, as at 3. These slatsare equally spaced apart and ex- Letters Patent.

1911. Serial Nojemees.

slats are the rounded ends of equally spaced slats 5 forming the end walls of the crate. Arranged between the rear ends of the slats 5 are slats 6 forming the rear wall of the crate, and the ends ofall of said slats Patented July 11, 1 911.

are pivotally connected together by vertical v pivotpins 7 having the upper and/lower ends thereof provided with heads 8f To prevent undue vwear ofothe sides of, the slats forming the crat, we interpose metallic vlrashers dtfitween the pivoted ends of said s at- Hinged to the bottomslat 1 of the front wall by strap hinges 10 is a rectangular bottom plate 11, the hinges 10 being located adjacent the ends of said bottom plate. The bottom plate intermediate the ends thereof is provided with a transverse strap '12, the fo-rward end of said strap is bent downwardly and bifurcated, as at713, whilethe rear end thereof is bifurcated, as at 1 1.

Connected to one of the slats 6 0f the rear wall is a pivoted hasp 15 having the lower cylindrical threaded end 16 adapted to fit in the bifurcation 14: of the strap 12, said head being retained inengagement with the bifurcated end of said strap by a winged thumb nut 17.

The top slat 6 of the rear wall isprovided with strap hinges 18 adjacent to the ends thereof and these strap hinges support a rectangular lid 19. fIhe forward edge of the lid is provided with a depending pin-20 adapted te e ngage in a socket 21 provided therefor in the top slat 1 of the'front wall. Secur'edto the lid 19 at the front edge thereof is a strap 22 and pivotally connected to the forward end of said strap, as at 28 is a tie rod 24 having the lower end thereof provided with a T-shaped head 25 adapted to be sprung into engagement with the forward bifurcated end of the strap 12.

The lid 19 adjacent to one end thereof is adapted to receive a catch 30 carried by one of the slats 6 of thevother end wall, these tending between the rounded ends of said catchesassisting in maintaining the frontand rear walls in parallelism when the box is collapsed, with the bottom plate 11 folded against the front side of the front wall and the lid 19 folded rea'rwardly against the outer side of the rearwall.

By reference to will be noted that the crate or box occupies a comparatively small space when folded or collapsed, and we reserve the right to make the box or (rate of Wood or metal and'of various sizes.

What we claim is':

1. A folding crate comprising vertical front, rear and end walls formed of slats and with the'ends'of the slats'of the end walls extending between the ends of the slats of the other walls, said front wall having its upper slat formed with a socket, vertical pins pivotally connecting theends of said slats whereby the rear wall of said crate can be folded into parallelism with the front wall thereof,a bottom plate hinged to the lower slat of the front wall of said crate, a transverse strap carried by said bottom plate and having each of its ends bifurcated, a pivoted hasp carried by one of the slats of the rear wall-of said crate and adapted to be detachably connected to the bifurcated rear. end of said'strap, a lid hinged to the upper slat of the rear wall of said crate, a tie-rod pivotally supported by the forward edge of said lid and adapted to have the lower end thereof detachably connected to the bifurcated forward end ofsaid strap, and a depending pin carried by the forward edge of said lid and adapted to engage in the socket of the upper slat of the front wall of said cratej Fig. 7 of thedrawings it 2. A folding crate comprising vertical front, rear and end walls formed of slats and with the ends of the slats of the end walls extending between the ends of the slats of the other walls, washers interposed between the ends of said walls, vertical pins pivotally connecting the ends of said slats whereby the rear wall of said crate can be folded intoparallelism with the front wall thereof, said pins extending through said washers and the ends of said slats, a bottom plate hinged to the lower slat 'of the front wall of said crate, a transverse strap carrie'd by said bottom plate, a pivoted hasp carried byone of the slats of the rear wall of said crate and adapted to be detachably connected to the rear end of said strap, a lid hinged to the upper slat of the rear wall of said. crate, a tie rod pivotally supported by the forward edge of said lid and adapted to have the lowerend thereofv detachably connected. to the forward end of said strap, a depending pin carried by the forward edge of said lid and adapted to engage in the upper slat of the front wall of said crate, and means including catches and keepers adapted to retain said lid and said bottom plate in a folded-position in parallelism with the front and rear Walls of said H. J MCOHESNEY. 

